My ‘I Get To’ Moment

I recently completed my 10^th Dri-Tri challenge at Orangetheory Fitness.  This event is held twice per year and is their version of a triathlon.  It includes the 3 core components of Orangetheory – rowing, weight floor, treadmill.  In the 6 years I have been a member, I have only missed 2. 

It’s fun.  I like to challenge myself in new and different ways; this event gives me that opportunity.  I look forward to it, even though it’s hard. 

As I finished #10 and was recovering/stretching on the floor (yes, I am still committed to my PT exercises for my lower back; they work!) an interesting thought came to me: I get to do this.  I have been afforded the opportunity to take care of my health in this way.  I am blessed to be able to spend my time on a Saturday completing this challenge.  I truly felt God’s peace in that moment.

The reality is that not everyone ‘gets’ to do things like this.  I understand – between the expense and the time, it is simply not feasible for a lot of people.  I have several friends who are currently battling – breast cancer, addiction, depression, caregiving, surgery, financial hardship – and what they ‘get’ to do is limited.  The ‘have’ to do’s are far more burdensome.  For them and in celebration of my blessings, I am going to continue to ‘do’ as I am able. 

I recently read an article on the opportunity we have to turn a ‘have to’ into a ‘get to’, but it didn’t really resonate with me until the day of my 10^th Dri-Tri.  In HR, we have a lot of ‘have’ to’s; they can be daunting.  But what if we look at our ‘have’ to do’s as things we ‘get’ to do?  Instead of viewing those pesky employee requests as just more things to add to your task list, think about how you ‘get to’ help those employees each and every day to make their lives at work just a bit better/easier/more comfortable. 

Does this resonate with you?  What do you get to do?

Here is what is coming up in October 2023:

• 10/8 – HR Social Hour Twitter chat @ 7:00pm EST with co-host Keirsten Greggs (Trap Recruiter) on the ‘Current State of Talent Acquisition’

• 10/11-10/13 – Wisconsin SHRM – I am presenting ‘HR, It’s a New Day!’ on Thursday, October 12^th

• 10/15-10/17 – Garden State SHRM – I am presenting ‘Training Managers How to be Managers’ on Tuesday, October 17^th

• 10/22 – HR Social Hour Twitter chat @ 7:00pm EST – Paul Lalonde is taking over the chat!  (Also my birthday!)